Awards

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and fellow bloggers... We are gathered here this evening, at the end of this eventful year, at the luxurious Pudding Towers to bestow the inaugural Yorkshire Pudding "Laughing Horse" Blog Awards upon very deserving recipients.... Excuse me... Ahem! Mr Clewley! MR CLEWLEY! (Aside - I knew we should have never arranged a free bar) Winning an award entitles the lucky blogger to embed a "Laughing Horse" widget within his or her blog. This designer widget was specially crafted by a crack design team based in Grimethorpe between Rotherham and Sheffield - close to the Blackburn Meadows Sewage Treatment Plant.

Laughing Horse Wordsmith of the Year
Drum roll.... This goes to Daphne at "My Dad's a Communist" whose wit and evocative use of English is legendary.
Laughing Horse Blog Design of the Year
Trumpets.... This goes to Steve ArtyFarty for "Occupied Country". Some smashing original photos Steve!
Laughing Horse Cynical Bystander Award
This goes to none other than Richmond's own Arthur Clewley with his homely Dales diary. He makes Victor Meldrew look like Charlie Chaplin!
Laughing Horse American Blog
Ta-dah! We have joint winners this year. From the west coast Ms Farida Dowler for her family and storytelling blog "Saints and Spinners", from Georgia Mr "Rhymes With Plague" for some fascinating slants on life and from Ohio, Sam the king of "The Golden Hill".
Laughing Horse - Best New Zealand Blog. Not much competition so it has to be joint winners - David for the occasionally lonesome but musical "Arcane Enigma" and Katherine for her colourful, artistic and varied "The Last Visible Dog".
Laughing Horse Welsh Blog of the Year
Yes it has to be.... the lovely Jenny with her readable and friendly "Demob Happy Teacher".
Yorkshire Blog of the Year
Should of course go to Mr Y.Pudding of Pudding Towers but as I am not allowed to win an award on my home patch, reluctantly I bestow this award on the six foot skinhead from 'Uddersfield - "The Arctic Fox".
Canadian Blogger of the Year
Dawn at "Far Far Away" - in other words "The Retarded Rugrat"
Northamptonshire Blogger of the Year
JJ (Griselda) at "All Cobblers" - you never know what you're gonna get!
Laughing Horse Sleeping Blogs I Miss Awards
Go to me old mucker "Brad the Gorilla", "Friday's Web" (N. Carolina) and "Shooting Parrots" (Manchester)
Laughing Horse Environmental Award
Goes to "Mopsa" for sensitive improvement of her Devonshire farm buildings.
Laughing Horse Northumberland Blogger Award
Naturally goes to Hadriana at "Hadriana's Treasures"
Laughing Horse Anyone Can Have an Award for £20 Award
These go to any bloggers out there who I have foolishly overlooked (such as Reidski and The Three Legged Cat) or those who simply want one! Cheque or credit card will do.

Right everybody! That's the official part of the evening over, now let's party like it's 1999! Yo! Free bar! Gerroff them sausage rolls Clewley! And here's to blogging through 2009. What better way to avoid the bloody credit crunch!